Editing Wild Mood Swings (section)

=== Contemporary ===
Aidin Vaziri of ''[[Houston Chronicle|Houston Chronical]]'' claimed the band were "not even close to losing its creative edge." and praised the lighter tone of the album, compared to the band<nowiki>''</nowiki>s earlier output, " the group sounds remarkably accessible. The Cure is just as relevant now as it was when it was paving the way for the modern rock revolution. The only challenge is getting the die-hard fans to set aside the black lipstick, tune in and lighten up."<ref>{{cite news |last=Vaziri |first=Aidin |date=5 May 1996 |title=The Cure Keeps Its Edge |url=http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/The-Cure-Keeps-Its-Edge-2983730.php |access-date=20 September 2017 |work=[[Houston Chronicle]]}}</ref>

James Hannaham of ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' observed, "Smith and the Cure remain fixated on cheap thrills throughout ''Wild Mood Swings''. They try on degraded versions of rock genre as deftly as they put on their makeup and lipstick." and felt, "Smith's three-note hooks never sounded less catchy, and the occasional arena-rock pretensions the band displays don't exactly hit home." concluding, "''Wild Mood Swings'' is the album you'd expect from the Cure if they'd suddenly become filthy rich, got drunk and high all the time, and had a midlife crisis."<ref name="Hannaham 91" />

Edna Gundersen of ''[[USA Today]]'' praised the album's sound, giving it three out of four stars, "a fun and deliberately trashy celebration of life's pleasures. ''On Want'', he expresses uncorked desire for "more fun, more pain, more flesh, more stars,<nowiki>''</nowiki> and Mint Car finds him chirping happily about romance. ''Moods'' do shift wildly, from a salsa-flavored ''The 13th'', horn-pumped ''Return'' and zippy ''Gone!'' to trademark Cure downers like ''Bare and Numb''. The album is uneven, but highlights outweigh the low points on this [[Bipolar disorder|bipolar]] flight of fancy."<ref>{{Cite web |date=1999-04-23 |title=POP/ROCK ALBUM REVIEW |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/music/lem269.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990423202219/http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/music/lem269.htm |archive-date=23 April 1999 |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=[[USA Today]]}}</ref>

When Simon Gallup was asked in an interview if he was looking forward to touring considering the album's mixed reception, he responded "Reviews really don't bother us. We feel very much at home now that the British press hate us once again. We found it a bit disconcerting when we released ''Wish'' and we were suddenly the British journalists' favourite band"<ref name=":2" />

Smith's initial response to the poorer reception was one of surprise,  "I have been surprised at the differences of opinion with regards to ‘Wild Mood Swings,’ because I think it’s really good." He also said that the variety and strength of the material made it "the best thing we’ve done". He felt confident in the album from the early stages of its creation, finding most of the criticism was illogical, saying that most them complained "that it sounds like The Cure", and believed the media perceived the band as out of touch with contemporary music, which amused him "because I’m a consumer, as well. I buy records. I listen to music. I know very well what’s going on. But the hilarity is, had we come back and released a [[Jungle music|jungle]] album, and tried to be very 90s, it would have been completely absurd. I mean, we listen to jungle backstage, but I can’t really see us playing it. To me, it’s like I’ve never felt that we’re in competition with other people. I’ve always thought they we just offer another choice."<ref name=":6" />